Craving chocolate? This recipe’s got your back. 

These cookies have all that rich chocolate fudge brownie wonderfulness in a cookie form. Why, you ask, should I spend the time to scoop out chocolate cookies when I can just whip up some brownie batter, throw it into a pan and bake it? Because when you bake individual cookies, each one of them gets that wonderful chewy edge that only the “side of the pan brownies” can boast. And these cookies have that chewy edge on ALL sides. Oh, and unlike many brownie recipes, they only have two tablespoons of butter in them, so might we even call them the healthier alternative? Probably not…well…maybe. But today is cookie day, not brownie day and this cookie offers you a beautiful compromise of both.

On the subject of chocolate….Use decent chocolate. Good chocolate makes good cookies. It’s not necessary to use Valrhona at $19/lb, but don’t use leftover Halloween candy for this recipe. Ghirardelli’s semi sweet bar or Trader Joe’s dark chocolate pounder bar are good choices. And while I have four or five different kinds of cocoa at any time in my pantry, Hershey’s cocoa works perfectly fine for this recipe.

Now, a few tips on melting. I used the microwave to do this job. It’s so much easier than a double boiler and there’s less dishes. However, don’t go crazy thinking that since you’re using this fast method to melt your chocolate, you’ll just set the timer for three minutes and get the job done all at once. If you’ve ever ended up with a thick gloppy mess of chocolate, it’s because the chocolate was overheated and seized on you or it came into contact with water. If you do ever end up with a gloppy mess…add a touch of shortening or oil and you might be able to bring it back.

I usually start with 30 seconds (if you have a very high wattage microwave, you might want to start with 15 seconds), then stir to distribute the heat. Continue with 10-15 second intervals, stirring after each and every one. You don’t need to continue heating until every chunk is melted. Stop when you still have some pieces of unmelted chocolate left and stir, using the residual heat from the rest of the melted chocolate to finish the job. This particular recipe only took me a total of one minute to melt, but it really will depend on the strength of your microwave and how small you chopped your chocolate.

When you’re finished melting (oh why don’t I have a photograph of that?), you will end up with the most luscious, shiny bowl of melted chocolate that will beg you to forgo the recipe and just dip a spoon, pretzel, cookie or graham cracker into it….Ignore the calling and proceed with the recipe.

I used instant espresso powder to intensify the chocolate flavor, but only a ½ tsp because I didn’t want the coffee flavor to be too strong and regardless of what people say, I can always taste the coffee. This is fine if I want a mocha flavor, but for this I really just wanted an intensely chocolate cookie. So, a ½ tsp worked great for me, but if you’re not like me, go ahead and use a full teaspoon or use more and go mocha. (Now I’m sitting here writing this and in my head that reads like a cheer….Go Mocha! Or……Go Mocha or Stay Home!)

I’ll “go mocha” another day. Today I’m staying home and making Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies.

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